A Simple Question
by Bronze Eagle
Summary: On the way back from the Wave Country, Sasuke asks Naruto about what happened during the fight on the bridge. Implied shonen-ai, SasuNaru & ZabuHaku


Hey, minna. Bronze Eagle here. Wow, I'm actually getting this typed! ::is very proud of herself:: Okay, a few warnings first off: this IS an implied shonen-ai fic, with both SasuNaru and ZabuHaku. If you don't like those pairings/don't like yaoi/are violently homophobic/whatever, that's none of my business. You just don't have to read my fic. ^^ It's that simple! |Urgh. Enough being happy.| XP Anyway, please don't flame because the characters are out of character (and I know they are, especially Naruto - I can't get into his head! Not telling it from someone else's view, anyway). Spoilers through the Wave Country arc. Oh, and this is all from Sasuke's point of view, as if you won't be able to figure that out. (By the way, "dobe" means "dunce," "dead-last," ect. It's what Sasuke sometimes calls Naruto.)  Hum. That's enough of me rambling, I think. More at the end. Now I present you with:

A Simple Question

We have been traveling for about a day now, after several days spent at Tazuna-san's home recovering from various injuries. I still ache a bit from the masked boy's needle attacks. Strangely, Naruto seems to have totally recovered from our battle already. In fact, now that I think of it, all of his scratches were gone by the time I regained consciousness on the bridge. How … ?

I watch Naruto pestering Sakura for a date yet again, and smirk slightly as he is tossed into the branches of a nearby tree. That idiot. He already knows she hates him; why does he bother?

The masked boy we fought comes once again to my mind. Sakura said he died protecting Zabuza, but I still can't see it. Even if Zabuza was precious to him, could he really be loyal enough to throw his life away for him? I would ask Kakashi-sensei about this, but he is reading Icha Icha Paradise again. How he can do that and walk at the same time I don't know, but he seems to manage. I don't think Sakura knows any more than I do, so that leaves –

CRASH

Naruto seems to have finally gotten out of that tree. I sigh as he runs to catch up with us. "Hey! Guys, wait! WAIT!!" Kakashi-sensei and Sakura ignore him, but I stop and turn around. I'd rather have a little distance from the other two for this conversation anyway. 

Naruto looks confused as he reaches me. I turn and start walking before he can say anything. He looks slightly unnerved that we are within spitting distance of each other and not trading insults, but fall in step beside me nevertheless. 

"Ne … Naruto. I … wanted to ask you something." I don't look at him as I speak, sincerely hoping this is a good idea.

"Huh?" He looks confused, and I briefly hope this isn't beyond his severely limited brain capacity. Then he grins. "Ohhh, the great Uchiha Sasuke wants to ask me something, eh? Well, I suppose I could give you a few tips if you ask nicely, but –" 

"That's not what I meant, dobe." I knew this was a bad idea. "I was just wondering about the fight on the bridge and that masked boy. If you can't answer my questions, then get lost."

"O … oh." I had expected him to get angry and either start shouting or storm away, but instead he looks a little sad. 

He sighs. "What did you want to know?" Now this is /totally/ unlike him.

"I … well, first, what happened after I was knocked out?"

I watch him out of the corner of my eye as he thinks about his answer. The sadness still hasn't left his face.

"Well … I thought you were dead. It … hurt. And then that boy – Haku – was talking like you were already gone, and I felt anger building up in me. I don't really know what happened. All of a sudden I felt powerful, like I could do anything. I stopped noticing all of the needles. I – I just started attacking him. I think I was trying to kill him. He must have been running out of energy or something, because I could follow his movements. I finally caught hold of him and punched him in the face. That broke his jutsu, I think, but I didn't really notice then. I went after him. I … I was really going to kill him. But then I saw his face, and I recognized him from that time in the forest. The anger drained out of me, and I just couldn't do it. He – well, that was the end of the fight, really."

I stare at him, astonished. "You broke his jutsu? How did you get that much power? That would have been almost impossible even for Kakashi-sensei. No genin could do that." 

He bites his lip, as though thinking hard about something. Then a bit of a blush works its way across his face. Determinedly looking up at the sky, he says, "Well, Haku said that you fight at your strongest when you're fighting for a precious person." Suddenly even his ears are red, and he splutters, "Not that this means we're friends, or anything! 'Cause we're not!"

My own face is a bit pink and I almost smile at his antics. A precious person? Was he really that upset when he thought I was dead?

"But what about that boy, Haku? Sakura said he protected Zabuza … why? What did he see in a guy like that?"

Naruto's face is sad again, and suddenly I regret being the one to make him look this way. "He … after I recognized him, he said he wanted me to kill him."

"What?"

"He said I had taken away his reason for existing. That Zabuza didn't need a weak shinobi. He told me there wasn't anyone else precious to him because …" he sighs. "His mother was from an advanced bloodline, like you, and he inherited her power. When his father found out, he killed Haku's mother, and tried to kill him. I think Haku somehow accidentally killed him. He … he said that after that, he was forced to think he was unwanted in the world."

I see Naruto shaking, and for the first time truly realize that he is an orphan, too. He probably never knew his parents at all. The sympathy I feel surprises me. I silently wait for him to continue.

"Zabuza found him sometime after that. I don't know how long he was on his own, but I think he wouldn't have survived very much longer. Zabuza realized he was from an advanced bloodline, and said he wanted Haku's abilities." He sighs. "That was all Haku had ever dreamed of, so he went with Zabuza. He was his precious person because he needed Haku, in a world that had rejected him. Even when I was about to do what he had asked and kill him, he somehow knew Zabuza was in trouble. He stopped my attack, then took Kakashi-sensei's blow for Zabuza. I think," he swallows with some difficulty, "I think he really loved Zabuza. And Zabuza didn't realize it – or acknowledge it, I don't know – until after he was dead. "That's …" he trails off, shaking his head and unable to continue. 

I am silent, looking at Naruto. I don't think I ever realized he has this kind of emotional depth. I wonder how many times he has ever cried by himself, alone and afraid. Then I wonder if he has /ever/ had anyone to hold him when he cries. I find myself wanting to put my hand out to him, but I control the urge. If he thought I felt sympathy for him, he would hate me all the more, and suddenly that is the last thing I want in the world.

Naruto has picked up a stick and is trying to use it to catapult himself into the trees. However, he hasn't realized it's rotten through, and will break if he – ouch. I expect him to give up and go pester someone, but instead he looks as though he is concentrating. Oh – of course. He ran up the tree using chakra. 

I watch him jump through the branches, an expression of fierce joy on his face. In the sunlight his stupid orange jumpsuit looks as though it is glowing, and somehow compliments the golden halo of his hair. Seeing him like this makes me realize we are perhaps more like Zabuza and Haku than we thought. He is the brilliant day to my deepest night, as Haku was the innocent angel to Zabuza's bloodstained devil. I only hope, as I watch my most precious person, that our end can be as happy as theirs.

~*~

Fluffy, non-original, god-awful characterization, little to no plot, bittersweet ending … why did I write this fic again? Eheh … I suppose you could consider this a bit AU, since I don't think Sasuke ever really finds out what happened while he was out during that fight. Oh well. Then it's AU. ^^ I can't believe I finished it!! Go ahead and tear it apart, guys. I would be more than grateful for a little constructive criticism (and this needs it). Jaa ne, and please review!

~Bronze Eagle


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